2010 Kawasaki Mule 610 4X4 XC

Improved ergonomics start to become a reality as soon as we stepped into the cab. The seating is bench style with a new material that is just a bit more weather resistant and pliable to the riders seat. From the seat we found the steering wheel to also be a bit racier and rumor has it this steering wheel was inspired by the one found on the Kawasaki Teryx – possibly even pulled right off the beast and fitted to the Mule 610 4×4 XC. Attached to the sporty wheel is a rack and pinion style turning system and this makes the steering effort lighter.

A look at the dash reveals many controls that help the rider become more and more in control of the environment, starting with a gear selector that ranges from forward to reverse with hi and lo range. The easy engagement of 2WD to 4WD is handled right next to the gear selector and with the electronic start switch in arms reach getting going is easy and convenient. You can pop the front cargo hood from the drivers seat to get to the over 12-gallon sealed storage compartment. Differential gear selection is made via a large handle on the left of the steering wheel and the choke pull along with the light switch can be found here as well.

From here we started to look around to the powerplant and with the reliable 401cc engine still unchanged there wasn’t a great deal to see. The carbureted engine has an overhead cam design that is fan cooled and with the cab frame air intake style the beast breathes in cool cleaner air. Overheating is a concern, but with Kawasaki’s built in oil temp warning lamp and crankcase sensory everything seems to be under control. You can start the Mule in neutral, but just stepping on the brake will allow this hauler to get up and go if you leave it in forward or reverse settings. The 401cc thumper needs just a bit of choke to fire up but it does so very easily. Engine vibration is countered by balancing weights in the engine to keep the vibrations low.

The transmission in the Mule 610 4×4 XC is a traditional CVT or constant velocity fully automatic transmission. A few changes are worth nothing on the belt driven gearbox. Thanks to the larger tires, the previous model’s gearing is a bit dated so Kawasaki’s engineers revamped the gear ratio to accommodate the 26-inch Maxxis Big Horn treads. Kawasaki even installed an ATV style dual cog belt for long wear and superior grip. Sealing up the CVT was the icing on the cake, as this will keep water and mud or other trail debris from entering the drive center of the Mule. Finally, the transmission has a dual mode lockable differential that allows the rider to lock all four wheels together and pull through the roughest terrain with ease.